September 2016 Housing Starts in St. Catharines-Niagara

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 11, 2016) - Housing starts in the St. Catharines-Niagara Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending lower at 2,219 units in September compared to 2,366 in August, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

"The trend in total housing starts declined in September as a result of a decrease in the trend of single-detached starts," said James Cuddy, CMHC's Market Analyst. "However, despite the decline in September, the trend for housing starts remained at an elevated level, particularly for single-detached homes. Demand for homeownership is being generated by an influx of individuals from the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton CMA who are being attracted to the relatively more affordable homes in St. Catharines-Niagara CMA. This trend, coupled with a resale market where new listings have not kept pace with sales, has led to a rise in the number of new single-detached homes being built in the region."

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. In some situations, analysing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets which can be quite variable from one month to the next. The multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

The SAAR of total housing starts was 1,647 in September down from 2,294 in August. The SAAR decrease was due to a decline in single-detached units.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables.

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

For more information, visit our website at www.cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Additional data is available upon request.

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